Heaps won't take our cash
After weeks of public pressure, Councillor Adrian Heaps finally broke his silence Monday by indicating he will not take the $65,680 salary top-up council recently awarded him to cover a failed defamation lawsuit from the 2006 election.Heaps issued a letter to all councillors confirming his “official refusal” to accept the money councillors approved 21-4 in a late evening vote last Dec. 7.
They did so despite warnings by city solicitor Anna Kinastowski that covering the legal bills of a candidate would be contrary the law and could be challenged in court.
“As councillors we must conduct ourselves in an honorable way if we are to set an honorable example,” Heaps wrote on the eve of Wednesday’s council vote to re-open and possibly rescind December’s decision to give him the cash. He insisted the “lack of protections” for newly elected councillors being sued discourages citizens to run for office.
Heaps did not return Sun phone calls.
Two weeks ago, the 21 councillors who voted to pay Heaps were served with a Toronto Party lawsuit claiming they “knowingly breached their fidiciary duty” to Torontonians by doing so.
The suit also names Heaps and Giorgio Mammoliti, both of whom also were paid in September of 2008 for legal fees of $82,478 and $92,276, respectively, to fight compliance audits of their fundraising efforts in the 2006 election.
And last week Councillor Doug Holyday filed his own lawsuit about the issue.
sue-ann.levy@sunmedia.ca
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There's a whole bunch of Heaps at city hall. Festering ones that have been around for far too long. They are useless Heaps that cost taxpayers far in excess of what they are worth. Self centered Heaps, self serving Heaps, crooked Heaps, outright lying Heaps. There's bizzarre Heaps (Say hello Giorgio) and arrogant Heaps (Hi Dave) Someone else said it another thread, "So many lumps of useless flesh" Two terms of Miller and look where we are. The entire city is bleeding red ink and in a disgusting state. The subways look like something from an old black and white movie.The infrastructure is in decay everywhere. fees and taxes pop up like mushrooms and still we sink.
Yet all the Heaps fiddle while Toronto burns,even give themselves raises
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